Wedge



E. W. BULLARD WEDGE Fi led Apr. 20, 1922 new andusetul Improyement' inedges;

nnwrnwa BULLAnn, onwHrrnnY- vrrinn, connncrrcur.

Patented Feb. 2 h i923.

sra'ie Wear it I tantra WEDGE.

Application mama so, 1922. SerielNo. 555,785.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDWIN JV. BULLARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at VVhitneyville, in the county ct New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented a and I do hereby declare the 'lollowing,when taken in. connection.,with the accompanying drawings andthecharacters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear and or actdescription or the same, and whichsaid drawings constitute part ot thisapplication, and represent in- Fig. 1 a View in side elevation of anordi nary claw-hammer, the head oi? which 1S secured to the tenon of itswood handle by one.

'liormof my improved i nperforate seli'docting wedge shownbybrokenlines.

Fig.2 a View thereof in broken horizontal section on theline 22 of Fig.1, the parts being shownon an enlarged scale. h Fig. 3 a detached plan'view of the seli":- locking wedge.

Fig. 4 a face View thereof.

Fig. 5 an edge iew thereof. Fig. 6 a broken View'in vertical centralsection of the tenonof the hammer handle.

showing the impression made therein byonef face of my improvedimperiorate wedge;

F g. 7 a ClGta-ChQClVIGW 1n s de elevation of one of the modified formswhich my improved imperforate wedge may assume.

Fig. 8 an edge vlew thereof. p My invention relates to an improvement inself-locking metal wedges for securinghann nier-heads, hatchets, and themetal parts or kindred tools to the wood handlesthereof, notwithstandingthe shrinkage of the same.

the object of my invention beingto produce a superior wedge of thecharacter described. in so far as it avoids the cutting of the fibers ofthe wood and deflecting or lacing them through transverse openings inthe wedge.

With these {ends in View, my invention consists in an imperforateself-lockingmetal wedge having one or both of its faces configurated forthe insolation and deflection 0t fibers of the wood in the planes of thesaid face or faces and at an angle to the longitudinal axis of thehandle of the tool.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction as willbe hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in' the claims. 7

In carrylng out, my lTflVIlt-IOD, as herem shown, l

13 and the other in the use of the hammer.

. in Fig-33s. of the wedge 20 are formed with compleribs 13 having sucha wedge is the wood handle '15. n'iounting' the clawhammer 16, thefibers of the wood forming the opposite walls of the mortise 0r cleft 17in tliesaid tenon will be entered by the apex of the spreading point-13and by the pointed lower ends of the ribs 13, andisolated in.

groups or handles 18 and deflected in opposite directions from thelongitudinal axis 19 (Fig. 6) of the cleft or mortise 17 and hence ofthe handle 15, as shown in Fig. 6. in planes which are substantiallyparallel with the faces of the wedge. But the fibers, as I wish toparticularly point out, are not transversely cut, as in the use of thosewedges in whichthey are deflected or laced througlrholes or opening-sinthe wedges. 611 the contrary he fibers of the bundles or cables otfibers are compressed and condensed by the described swaging action ofthepoint 13 and the ribs 13. Since the lie in the grooves 11 of thewe'dgeat an angle to the longitudinal axis 12 thereof, they will lockand hold the same in place,

eventhough the wood shrinks, and thus prevent the hammenhead 16 from.flying; off In case the wedge, owing tothe shrinkage of the wood,

gets loose, it will not come out, butmayreadily be tightened by ablowdriving it still further inward into the wood. A self-locking wedgeconstructedin accordance with my invention may assume a consideral'ilovariety of forms without de-' parting; from its principle. One of such 2groups or bundles 18 of fibers thus deflected modified or alternativegtdrms is illustrated and 8. in which the opposite faces mentary,inwardly-diverging downwardly opening grooves 2]. separated by atriangular spreading-point 22 and merging at their upper ends into awider common gi rooye 23. In this construction, theypoint ot the wedgeconsists of an integral leattplanes substantially (re-incident with theopposite faces of the wedge and produce, as llS'WGIQ, bundles of fibersstanding at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the wedge, and hence ofthe handle, in which any tendency of the wedge to work outward will beeffectively resisted by the engagement of the inner shoulders 25 of thegrooves 21 with the inner edges of the bundles ot-fibers lying in suchgrooves.

I would, therefore, ha to it understor-nl' that I do not limit inysil'tto the C()119tl\l"t.l( lif4 shown and described, my invention broadlycomprehending wedges having their opposite faces formed withdownwardly-openiup; grooves or otherwise configured for the deflectionof bundles or sets or the fibers of a wood tool-handle in the planes ofthe 0pposite faces of the Wedge. so as'to stand at an angle to thelongitudinal axis thereof and to constitute locking means for holdingthesame in place.

I claim:

1. An imperl'orate selt-loeking wedge for securing tools to woodhandles, having one elf its faces formed with one or moredownwardly-opening, ohliquely-disposed grooves for the obliquedeflection of fibers of: the

.wood in the plane ol the said :tace at an Y and reception oi sets orhundles ol li'ners ol' the wood in the planes ol such l'aees and at anangle to its longitudinal axis, the lower ends of the ribs being shapedto enter the fibers ol the wood For the sidewise displacementthereof.

In testimony whereof, I have sign d this specification in the presenceof two subscribing; witnesses.

EDWIN w. mini'iaizn.

\Vitnesses Fnnnnnic C. EARLE, h Lxnconw P. Niouons.

